Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25
बृहस्पतिरुवाच । ये त्वया मदमत्तेन वालखिल्या महर्षयः । उल्लंघिताः स्थिता मार्गे गोष्पदं तर्त्तुमिच्छवः
bṛhaspatiruvāca | ye tvayā madamattena vālakhilyā maharṣayaḥ | ullaṃghitāḥ sthitā mārge goṣpadaṃ tarttumicchavaḥ
बृहस्पती म्हणाले—हे इंद्रा! मद-गर्वाने उन्मत्त होऊन तू मार्गात उभ्या असलेल्या वालखिल्य महर्षींवरून उडी मारून त्यांचा अपमान केला; ते तर गो-खुराएवढे अल्प जलही पार करण्याच्या इच्छेने तेथे थांबले होते।
Bṛhaspati
Listener: Indra (Śakra, Śacīpati)
Scene: A narrow forest-path: tiny, radiant Vālakhilya sages stand or sit in tapas; Indra, majestic yet arrogant, strides/leaps over them; the sages’ stillness contrasts with Indra’s motion, foreshadowing karmic reversal.
FAQs
Pride toward sages is a grave aparādha; disrespecting the spiritually great invites karmic reversal even for the most powerful.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it explains the moral cause behind the ominous signs within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
None directly; the implied prescription is ethical—honor ṛṣis and avoid arrogance, which is foundational to all tīrtha rites and Purāṇic dharma.